The Vampire Diaries (TV series)
The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural–fantasy horror/drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name by L. J. Smith. The series follows the life of 17-year old Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who falls in love with a centuries old vampire named Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) and quite possibly may develop feelings for his brother Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), also a vampire. The series also focuses on the lives of Elena's friends and other inhabitants of the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. The series is a mix of teen drama and the supernatural. When The Vampire Diaries premiered on The CW Television Network on September 10, 2009, it attracted the largest audience of any series since the network began in 2006. Due to strong ratings, the series was given a full, 22-episode first season on October 21, 2009. The show's first season finale aired on May 13, 2010. On February 16, 2010, The CW announced a renewal for a second season of the show that began airing on September 9, 2010. Main Cast and Characters Current * Nina Dobrev as Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce * Paul Wesley as Stefan Salvatore * Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore * Katerina Graham as Bonnie Bennett * Candice Accola as Caroline Forbes * Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood * Zach Roerig as Matt Donovan * Joseph Morgan as Niklaus Mikaelson ( Recurring; Season 2 episodes 19-22, Main; Season 3-present) Former * Kayla Ewell as Vicki Donovan (Main; Season 1 episodes 1-7, Guest; season 2, Recurring; season 3) * Sara Canning as Jenna Sommers (Main; Season 1-2, Guest; season 3) * Matthew Davis as Alaric Saltzman (Special guest star; Season 1 episodes 9-13, Main; Season 1 episode 14-season 3, Recurring; Season 4 episodes 2,22,23) *Steven R. McQueen as Jeremy Gilbert (Season 1-4) Production Initially Kevin Williamson had little interest in developing the series, finding the premise too similar to other vampire tales. However, at Julie Plec's urging, he began to read the novels and started to become intrigued by the story: "I began to realize that it was a story about a small town, about that town's underbelly and about what lurks under the surface." Williamson has stated the town's story will be the main focus of the series, rather than high school. On February 6, 2009, Variety announced that The CW had greenlit the pilot for The Vampire Diaries with Williamson and Julie Plec set as the head writers and executive producers. On May 19, 2009, the series was officially ordered for the 2009–2010 season. On the morning of May 10, 2012, a fire broke out in the building on Clark Street in Covington that was used as the setting for Mystic Grill on the show. The series was given a full, 22-episode order on October 21, 2009 after strong ratings for the first half of the season. On February 16, 2010, The CW announced that it had renewed the show for a second season,23 which premiered on September 9, 2010.On April 26, 2011, The CW renewed the show for a third season.On April 2,2012 the series was renewed for 4th season with 23 episodes. President of The CW Mark Pedowitz said in an interview at the summer TCA's that The Vampire Diaries didn't receive an extra episode order third season at the request of Kevin Williamson. "Kevin Williamson felt to do the best show possible he would rather do 22. I'd rather have a great 22 than a good 24 if Kevin couldn't do it," he explained. Filming Locations The pilot episode was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, but the rest of the episodes have been filmed in Covington, Georgia (which doubles as the fictional small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia) and various other communities around Greater Atlanta, to take advantage of local tax incentives. Critical Reception Metacritic gave the show a score of 50/100 based on 22 critical reviews, indicating mixed to average response. Its premiere on September 10, 2009 gave The CW its biggest series premiere scoring 4.9 million viewers. Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers. The first season had an average rating of 3.66 million viewers. Many TV critics felt the series improved with each episode. Sarah Hughes of The Independent says The Vampire Diaries turns into "a well-crafted, interestingly developed series", despite a poor opening episode. The New York Post also praised the portrayal of Elena, finding the character to be a strong-minded woman who did not allow her feelings for her boyfriend to control her. Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune said that "the supernatural drama is a first-class production, featuring an insanely gorgeous cast, sharp scripts and a brooding vibe that is hard for even the most levelheaded adult to resist." Mike Hale of The New York Times gave the series an honorable mention on his list of the top TV shows of 2009. The show's second season opened to universal acclaim from professional television critics as it received a 78/100 score on Metacritic. As the series progressed and developed onto the third season, critics praised the portrayals of the main characters and the development of the female characters such as Elena Gilbert played by Nina Dobrev and Caroline Forbes who is played by Candice Accola. The third season finale, The Departed, opened to generally positive reviews. Diana Steenbergen of IGN praised the episode and the writers for clearing up a couple story lines and making all of them come to a head. She also praised Dobrev's performance in this episode, addressing her behaviour as another reason the final revelation from Meredith was more shocking and believable. Similarly, Mandi Bierly of Entertainment Weekly review praised the writer's skills in creating the more unexpected final twist. Several reviewers also addressed the dynamic of the show may change now with the character of Elena being transitioned. Keshaunta Moton of Poptimal refers to the upcoming changes as "huge" and notes the change as something that'll affect her relationship with other characters. Other reviewers, like Matt Roush of SeattlePi and Ben Lee of Digital Spy refer to the finale as a "game-changer" and one to set up a completely new storyline for the fourth season. Notes * Every season since its debut it has been paired with a different show, During Season One it was paired with Supernatural, during Season Two with Nikita, and during Season Three it was paired with it's sister show The Secret Circle, ''which was cancelled after one season. During Season Four it will be paired with a new supernatural show, ''Beauty and the Beast. * Thus far, one main character is killed off each season. In order: Vicki Donovan, Jenna Sommers, Alaric Saltzman, and Jeremy Gilbert. ** Jeremy was the only one to be killed off without becoming a vampire. Productions codes: * Season 1 - (Pilot: 296766) (other eps: 2J5001 - 2J5021) * Season 2 - (2J5251 - 2J5272) * Season 3 - (2J6001 - 2J6022) * Season 4 - (2J6651 - 2J6673) Awards Teen Choice Awards People's Choice Awards Saturn Awards Young Hollywood Awards J-14 Teen Icon Awards Do Something Awards See also * The Vampire Diaries (novels) * Season One * Season Two * Season Three * Season Four * Season Five Category:The Vampire Diaries television series